Q2 2026 Nexstar Media Group Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Nexstar Media Group Inc (NXST) delivered record second quarter results with all-time high quarterly revenue of $2 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $633 million, and free cash flow more than doubling to $238 million year-over-year.
- The company is aggressively deleveraging, repaying $409 million in debt during the quarter and anticipating over $1 billion in total debt repayment from the acquisition date, creating over $33 per share of equity value.
- Political advertising revenue is performing ahead of internal expectations, with Q2 political revenue of $147 million up 8% versus 2022 and 99% versus 2024, driven by strong spending in key battleground states.
- The CW network is on track to achieve profitability in Q4, with full-year losses expected to improve by more than 30%, supported by strong sports ratings and new distribution partnerships with ESPN and Roku.
- NewsNation continues to be the fastest-growing cable news network, with total viewers in June 2026 growing 44% year-over-year, and the company has completed ATSC 3.0 deployment across the top 20 industry DMAs.
- The D.C. Circuit Court rejected all challenges to the FCC's order approving the TEGNA acquisition, and the FCC is expected to eliminate the national broadcast ownership cap, which could provide marginal legal benefits.
- Nexstar Media Group Inc (NXST) faces ongoing litigation with a bench trial scheduled for July 6, 2027, which delays full integration of TEGNA operations and the realization of expected synergies.
- Combined nonpolitical advertising declined 5.8% in Q2, impacted by political crowd-out, competitive pressures, and economic softness, with Q3 expected to decline mid-single digits.
- TEGNA's distribution revenue declined year-over-year as subscriber losses were not fully offset by rate increases, and the company operates under existing contracts rather than Nexstar's more favorable terms.
- Corporate expenses increased significantly due to TEGNA-related onetime costs, including $50 million in year-over-year increases from change-in-control severance, accelerated stock vesting, and legal fees.
- The company's total net leverage stands at 4.22x, and it has removed synergies from its leverage calculation due to the trial timeline, limiting financial flexibility.
- CBS has used affiliation negotiations to move or take affiliations in smaller markets, and with Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, there is increased pressure on broadcast affiliates to pay more for less content.
Good day, and welcome to Nexstar Media Group's second quarter 2026 conference call. Today's call is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Joe Jaffoni, Investor Relations. Please ahead.
Thank you, Sachi, and good morning, everyone. I'll read the safe harbor language, and then we'll get right into the call. All statements and comments made by management during this conference call other than statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. . Nexstar cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements made during this call.
For additional details on these risks and uncertainties, please see Nexstar's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Nexstar's subsequent public
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